22 May Over 30 Participating in Associate Summit
Pat Jones (front right) gives a tour of Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church prior to the opening sessions.
Former bishop Paul Hirschy speaks to attendees on behalf of Huntington University.
The Tuesday morning keynote session included discussions at the tables, sharing of prayer concerns, and praying.
Everyone's got their passport ready as the bus prepares to enter Canada.
Craig Mickey (foreground) leads the way as some of the group prepare to board the Maid of the Mist, a boat which cruises to the base of the Horseshoe Falls. Thin plastic ponchos are provided...and much needed.
The Associates Summit is in progress in Buffalo, New York. Twenty-two persons serving 13 different United Brethren churches in associate roles are attending. They are joined by three persons from the national office–Bishop Phil Whipple, Cluster coordinator Dennis Miller, and Communications director Steve Dennie. This conference is for spouses, too, and seven spouses are attending.
Bishop Phil Whipple spoke to the attendees at the restaurant following the noon meal on Tuesday, May 22.
Also participating is Pat Jones, a former United Brethren pastor and Director of Healthy Church Ministries. In 2009, Pat became senior pastor of Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Buffalo, New York. Eastern Hills is hosting some of the sessions, and Pat is speaking each day. That’s why everyone’s in Buffalo. Pat’s keynote addresses are built around the book “The Circle Maker,” by Mark Batterson.
This conference is designed for persons in UB churches working in such staff roles as pastoral care, assimilation, adult education, visitation, counseling, missions, discipleship, children’s ministry, etc. It is not for senior pastors.
While senior pastors participate in periodic cluster meetings, which provide continual training for them, associate staff do not attend cluster meetings. Instead, a series of specialized summits are designed for them. There is the annual UB Youth Workers Summit, and earlier in May there was a summit for persons in worship and music ministry.
This is the first year for the Associates Summit. Two years ago, a summit was held for persons in the spiritual care niche, but only six persons attended. The range was broadened for the Associates Summit. The result was a quadrupling of the attendance.
The conference began on Monday night, May 21, with an opening session at Eastern Hills church. On Tuesday morning, everyone ate breakfast together at the Millennium Hotel, where everyone is staying. After breakfast, Bishop Emeritus Paul Hirschy, who has worked for Huntington University since 2005, gave a presentation on behalf of the university. At the beginning of June, Hirschy will begin a new role as associate pastor of College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. Then Pat Jones gave his second message.
By 11 am, everyone was loaded in a large passenger bus and headed for Niagara Falls. After a lunch at the Edgewater restaurant overlooking both the US and Canadian falls, Bishop Phil Whipple gave a challenge to the associates. Then the participants spent the rest of the afternoon taking tours and rides at the falls.
The summit will conclude after breakfast on Thursday, May 24.
Rev. Juanita Chavez (right), superintendent of Honduras National Conference, sent this photo from a recent trip to the town of Clinton, where a new church plant is under way. On this particular day, a team was erecting a shelter for the church to use for gatherings.
“Occupational therapy is an in-demand field which is expected to continue to grow given recent medical developments with stroke survivors as well as people recovering from joint and hip replacements,” said Dr. Norris Friesen (right), senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “Given the interest in exercise science, our mission and the fact that there are no other similar programs in our area, this is a very unique opportunity for us to influence the next generate of occupational therapists with an accredited program that seeks to integrate God’s message of grace and love by helping people regain their strength and abilities to live full and fruitful lives.”
Bishop John Pessima (right), the leader of Sierra Leone Conference, is pleased to announce that after 150 years of missionary ministry in their country, they have now established their own mission field. They have begun ministry among among the Vai People who straddle the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The United Brethren in Christ have 33 churches and numerous church plants in Nicaragua. These churches and pastors, located primarily to the west of the Managua, meet regularly for leadership training and the development of lay workers.
Today, the nursing pin is used to signify this same dedication: the end of formal education and the beginning of practice, a way of welcoming graduates into the nursing profession.
Mike and Jennifer Burtnett and family are serving in Bulgaria June 15 – July 2, 2012. Along with 9 other teammates from the JAARS youth group, they will be blessing kids, a Bulgarian church planter, and Wycliffe missionaries in this eastern European country.
The Troy and Julie Hendricks family are no longer part of the Global Ministries endorsed staff. In 2003, they began serving in Spain with SEND International. However, several issues from a very difficult year brought them to the States in October 2011, and they are resigning from SEND International as of May 31, 2012. Troy has landed a job in the Toledo, Ohio, area, and they are currently searching for housing and a job for Julie. Troy and Julie will return to Spain in June for the high school graduation of their daughter Hannah, to take care of household belongings, and to say good-byes with friends and teammates.
Lindsey Woodall is no longer a member of the Global Ministries endorsed staff. She had been teaching in Honduras, but has returned to the States and is working as a paraprofessional in the Stryker, Ohio, local school system. Lindsey is the daughter of Nick Woodall, pastor of Stryker UB church in Stryker, Ohio.
